“Oh...” A knowing frown came to his face. “You’re that girl? Gabe’s girl?” He looked to Luke for confirmation.
A blush came to my cheeks again. Being known as Gabe’s girl was just about the best thing anyone could ever call me.
“Yes, sir.” I smiled. “Do you two know each other?”
“Know each other?” He dropped his jaw and jutted out his strong jaw in fake anger. “That Yank’s always been my number one competitor. We’re mortal enemies, you know.”
His exaggerated eyebrow waggle had me giggling behind my hand.
“I may be a lab geek, but that doesn’t mean I take it easy on him in the training ring.” He flexed his arms, the sleeves of his coat straining tight across his biceps. “Just you wait a few days, love. He and I have a date in the ring this week. You’ll be nursing your partner’s pride when I’m done with him. Where is the bugger, anyway?”
I pursed my lips. Hopefully, he and the rest of the team were sound and safe. I hated not being there, among the demon battle. From this distance, I couldn’t protect my partner or my friends. The distance was killing me.
“He’s pursuing another demon case,” Luke interjected for me. I smiled gratefully at him. “We’re still doing clean-up of the ferals who escaped last year’s battle.”
The man’s eyebrows knit together and nodded solemnly. With a quick pat on my shoulder, he frowned. “That was a terrible time. We Aussies were glad to hear of your safety. You’ve got friends around the world, whether you know it or not.”
A surprising well of tears formed in my eyes. I didn’t even know this man a minute ago, but already, he felt like a long-lost big brother.
Blinking away the moisture, I smiled gratefully. “Thank you. But I’m afraid I don’t even know my friend’s name.”
“Noah Brown, at your service.” He waved his hand and bobbed his head in a bow. A mischievous grin tugged at the left side of his mouth. “But don’t think our friendship is going to make a difference for that boy of yours. I still plan on giving your partner a run for his money.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” I said with a laugh. “And neither would Gabe. I’m sure of it.”
With a wink, he left us to go sit at a blinking computer with strange symbols on the screen.
“Lizzy.” Luke squeezed my shoulder, an exhausted smile on his face. “Can you believe this? Isn’t it amazing?”
“It really is.”
I scanned over the dozens of different stations, researchers hard at work at each of them. With this much brain power in one room, we could really make a difference out there. No more relying on outdated fighting methods. We could defend the manor better, too. The battle of last summer would be a distance thought, only painful to those of us who lost someone that day.
“Come,” Luke said, pulling on my elbow. “There’s someone else who arrived tonight that you need to meet. I had no idea they’d be coming.”
He led me through the giant room, pausing every few seconds to greet one of the researchers or comment on an invention. I could tell Luke was in his element. Despite his bookish behavior and quiet mannerisms, he was a people person. Having the manor full of Nephilim from all over the world made him giddy with excitement. He could hardly catch a breath between sentences. And introducing me as his daughter seemed to put an extra big smile on his face as we migrated toward the back wall.
“Over there,” he said, pointing to a man and woman surrounding a table.
They were deep in discussion, examining a curved blade with intricate carvings on the handle. She was tall and extremely thin with porcelain skin and long wavy blonde hair. To a human, she appeared to be in her sixties, but for a Nephilim she could well be into her six-hundredth year. Holding herself completely straight, she walked like a queen on parade. A light smile hinted on her thin red lips as she spoke to the man beside her.
He seemed to be of a similar age with an athletic build and broad shoulders in a sports jacket and jeans. He had a pleasant face and a thick brown beard. With his hands stuffed casually in his pockets, he looked out of place next to the elegant woman. Still, she kept one arm looped in his, making it obvious they were together.
“Who are they?” I asked, unsure why Luke was so excited to introduce me.
There were plenty of other new Nephilim researchers in the room whom I’d never met. Many who looked much less likely to squash me like a bug under her heel.
“I thought you would know,” he replied with a wink. “Isn’t it obvious?”
With a questioning look, I returned my gaze to the couple. They’d spotted Luke and turned toward us. Like a laser beam, the woman zeroed in on me with her icy blue eyes. From the way her lips twisted, she didn’t look too pleased. The gentleman beside her lost his smile and gazed at me with curious, yet intense emerald green eyes.
I gasped and threw a hand over my mouth. Suddenly, Luke’s eagerness made sense. But I wasn’t supposed to meet these people—not for a long time to come. And definitely not without Gabe here. My knees turned to jelly at the thought of him hours away, unable to come to my rescue.
“Georgia and Ben, I want you to meet my daughter,” Luke said, the tone of his voice filled with pride. I swallowed the embarrassment and managed to keep myself from hiding behind his knee like a little child. “Lizzy, meet Georgia and Ben Cael.”
My voice had left me. I stood stony faced, my eyes darkening. Georgia’s eyes narrowed as she sucked in her cheeks.